LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GIFT    OF 


Class 


POPULATION': 


I  T  S 


LAW    OF  INCREASE. 


B  Y 


XATHAX   ALLEX,  M.  I).,  LOWELL,  MASS. 


READ    AT   THE    MEETING    OF  THE   WESTERN    SOCIAL   SCIENCE   ASSOCIATION, 
IN   CHICAGO,    NOVEMBER  12,    1868- 


LOWELL,  MASS.  : 
STONE   &    HUSE,  T*OOK   AND   JOB   PRINTERS,   NO.   '21   CENTRAL   STREET. 

1870. 


POPUL  ATIOIsr : 


ITS 


LAW  OF  INCREASE 


BY 


NATHAN  ALLEN,  M.  D.,  LOWELL,  MASS. 


READ    AT    THE    MEETING    OF    THE   WESTERN    SOCIAL    SCIENCE   ASSOCIATION, 
IN    CHICAGO,    NOVEMBER    12,    1868. 


LOWELL,  MASS. : 

STONE  &  HUSE,  BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTERS,  NO.  21  CENTRAL  STREET. 

1870. 


\\t> 


i 


POPULATION -ITS  LAW  OF  INCREASE. 


READ  AT  THE   MEETING  OF  THE  WESTERN   SOCIAL  SCIENCE  ASSOCIATION 
IN  CHICAGO,  NOVEMBER  12,  1868.* 


THE  increase  of  Population  as  governed  by  fixed  laws  or  prin- 
ciples seems  never  to  have  attracted  any  public  attention  till  near  the 
close  of  the  Eighteenth  Century.  The,  French  Revolution  prevailing 
at  that  period,  gave  rise  to  some  bold  and  speculative  inquiries  con- 
cerning the  progress  and  perfectibility  of  man,  the  origin  and  extent 
of  human  government,  as  well  as  the  existence  and  power  of  a  Creator 
of  all  things. 

In  1793,  William  Godwin  published  a  work  upon  Political  Justice, 
respecting  the  unequal  distribution  of  the  good  things  of  this  life  and 
the  causes  of  so  much  poverty,  misery  and  suffering  in  the  world, 
which  must,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  seemingly  cast  reflections 
either  upon  human  or  divine  government.  The  Rev.  Thomas  R. 
Malthus,  connected  at  that  time  with  the  University  of  Cambridge, 
in  an  accidental  conversation  with  a  friend  in  respect  to  the  merits  of 
Godwin's  views,  was  prompted  to  make  some  criticisms  which  led  to 
the  publication,  in  1798,  of  an  "Essay  on  the  Principle  of  Population 
as  it  Affects  the  Future  Improvement  of  Society"  This  Essay  was 
afterwards  greatly  improved,  and  passed  through  several  editions  in 
the  form  of  two  large,  octavo  volumes. 

The  principles  embodied  in  this  work,  had  at  the  time,  and  have 
since  had  a  most  powerful  influence.  While  on  the  one  hand  they 
were  readily  adopted  by  large  numbers,  and  have  been  extensively 
incorporated  into  works  upon  Political  Economy,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  have  been  controverted  by  many  of  the  ablest  minds  in  Great 
Britain.  From  the  year  1800  to  1830,  several  works  were  published, 


*  In  a  discussion  at  the  close  of  this  convention  upon  the  publication  of  its  proceedings, 
the  Rev.  Edward  Bcecher,  D.  D.,  in  a  speech  advocating  the  measure,  remarked  that,  "  The 
papers  read  were  generally  good,  but  that  of  Dr.  Allen's  on  the  increase  of  Population,  if 
published  at  an  expense  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  would  return  one  thousand  fold,  so 
great  are  the  underlying  principles  of  our  natural  and  national  life  so  ably  treated  in  that 
document." 


236823 


opposing,  criticising  and  condemning  the  doctrines  of  Malthus  in  the 
severest  way.  At  the  same  time  many  elaborate  articles  appeared  in 
the  quarterly  reviews  and  monthly  magazines  upon  Population,  some 
of  them  approving  and  commending  these  doctrines,  while  others 
exposed  and  denounced  them  in  the  most  bitter  manner. 

In  1841,  Thomas  Doubleday  published  in  London  a  work  enti- 
tled, "  The  True  Law  of  Population  shown  to  be  connected  with  the 
Food  of  the  People  /"  and,  in  1852,  Herbert  Spencer  published  in 
the  Westminster  Review  an  able  article,  introducing  a  "  New  Theory 
of  Population]"1  deduced  from  the  general  law  of  animal  fertility. 
Neither  of  these  theories  has  ever  made  a  very  great  impression  on 
the  public,  or  commanded  the  confidence  of  those  most  interested  in 
this  subject.  While  the  doctrines  of  Malthus  have  been  gradually 
losing  their  hold  on  the  public  mind,  and  most  important  changes 
in  Society  have  been  taking  place  in  respect  to  the  progress,  character 
and  destiny  of  the  race,  no  attention,  comparatively,  has  of  late  been 
given  to  the  laws  which  directly  regulate  its  increase.  In  fact,  for 
the  last  thirty  years  there  has  been  no  general  or  thorough  discussion 
of  this  subject.  But  there  are  new  agencies  coming  into  existence, 
and  changes  occurring  in  the  status  of  different  communities  and 
nations,  that  will  ere  long  compel  attention  to  this  most  important 
question. 

Facts  connected  with  emigration  and  the  intermixture  of  races, 
together  with  census  returns,  registration  reports,  mortuary  statistics, 
<fcc.,  are  constantly  coming  to  light,  which  demand  explanation,  and 
can  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for,  only  by  referring  them  to  some 
fixed  laws  of  human  increase.  The  materials  upon  which  a  portion 
of  these  facts  are  based  have  been  accumulating  for  a  long  time, 
while  some  of  them  are  so  new  and  startling,  and  are  of  such  a 
nature  and  magnitude  that  they  must  be  investigated.  The  ration- 
ale of  these  facts  must  be  brought  to  the  test ;  the  lights  of  Science 
challenge  such  a  scrutiny ;  the  interests  of  an  advancing  civilization 
demand  it.  This  will  appear  evident  when  we  pass  in  review  some 
of  those  facts  like  the  following: — It  seems  from  the  census  and 
registration  reports  of  France,  that  the  population  of  that  great 
nation  has  become  almost  stationary,  and  that  the  number  of  births 
there  has  been  steadily  decreasing  for  the  last  fifty  years.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century  the  average  number  of  child- 
ren to  each  marriage  in  France  was  five,  but  it  is  estimated  that  the 
average  number  at  the  present  day  in  the  rural  districts  will  not 
exceed  three,  and  in  Paris,  not  much  over  two.  Now,  it  is  a  well 


established  fact  that  no  nation  can  increase  in  population  with  a 
much  less  average  than  three  children  to  each  marriage.  In  confir- 
mation of  the  same  fact  it  is  found  that  the  birth-rate  in  France  has 
been  reduced  to  one  in  thirty-seven  persons.  It  is  also  an  established 
fact  that  for  any  nation  to  be  in  a  prosperous  condition  or  gain  in 
population,  the  birth-rate  must  range  between  one  in  thirty  to  thirty- 
five  ;  but  with  a  birth-rate  less  than  that — say  one  in  thirty-eight 
to  forty,  such  a  nation,  having  the  usual  amount  of  mortality,  must 
diminish  in  population.  The  changes  that  have  already  taken  place 
in  France  cannot  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for  by  the  drafting  of 
young  men  into  the  army,  nor  by  the  emigration  of  young  people 
out  of  the  country,  nor  by  the  diminution  of  marriages.  If  the  births 
or  birth-rate,  therefore,  should  continue  to  decrease  in  France  for  the 
next  fifty  years,  as  they  have  for  the  last  half-century,  what  will  be 
the  result? 

A  similar  class  of  facts  is  found  to  prevail  with  the  descendants 
of  the  first  settlers  of  New  England.  The  Puritans  were  originally 
a  prolific  people.  They  had  on  an  average  for  several  successive 
generations  from  six  to  ten  children  to  each  married  couple,  but 
within  the  present  century,  the  average  has  dropped  down  from  six 
to  about  three,  and  the  birth-rate  of  the  original  stock  in  some  cities 
has  been  even  less  than  it  is  in  France.  Had  not  the  older  cities 
received  recruits  from  the  country  or  additions  from  the  foreign 
element,  their  population  would  have  been  seriously  affected. 

By  census  returns  taken  in  1765  and  1865,  there  are  now  found 
only  about  one-half  as  many  children  under  fifteen  years  of  age,  rela- 
tively, to  the  adult  population,  as  there  were  one  hundred  years  ago. 
It  is  beginning  to  be  admitted  that  there  is,  at  the  present  time 
in  most  parts  of  New  England,  no  increase  of  the  strictly  native 
population.  This  change  is  not  at  first  very  apparent,  partly  from 
the  fact  that  a  large  foreign  element  is  constantly  immigrating  to  its 
shores,  and  partly,  that  this  foreign  class  is  wonderfully  prolific,  hav- 
ing nearly  three  times  as  many  children  as  the  Americans.  This 
constant  addition  by  immigration  and  births  to  the  population  of  New 
England  makes  a  fair  show  of  increase  on  paper — but  when  an  anal- 
ysis is  made  of  its  character,  it  shows  at  once  that  all  or  nearly  all 
this  increase  arises  from  foreign  descent.  If  the  average  number  ol 
children  among  the  Americans  to  each  marriage  should  continue  to 
decrease,  so  that  they  will  not  make  good  the  places  of  the  producing 
stock,  and  a  larger  and  larger  number  of  persons  every  year  shall  see 
fit  to  live  a  single  life,  it  is  evident  that  the  native  stock  must  rapidly 


6 


diminish  and,  at  no  distant  day,  comparatively  must  run  out!  Is  it 
possible,  says  some  one,  that  the  Puritan — the  best  stock  that  the 
world  ever  saw,  under  what  would  be  considered  the  best  family 
training,  the  highest  order  of  educational  influences,  and  the  purest 
religious  instruction — should  thus  run  out  in  New  England,  and  give 
place  to  a  people  of  foreign  origin,  with  far  less  intelligence  and  a  re- 
ligion entirely  different  ?  When  we  come  to  consider  all  the  causes 
of  this  radical  change  in  New  England  population,  it  may  not  seem 
so  surprising. 

The  Census  of  the  State  of  New  York  taken  for  1865,  dis- 
closes some  curious  facts.  The  method  of  taking  this  Census  was 
different  from  that  of  all  others  in  this  respect : — that  it  was  taken  by 
families  with  particular  reference  to  children.  In  answer  to  the  in- 
quiry put  to  every  woman  who  was  or  had  been  married  (in  all 
842,562),  how  many  children  she  had  had,  whether  present  or  absent, 
living  or  dead, — there  were  115,252  women  who  responded  that  they 
never  had  had  a  child;  124,317,  only  one  child;  123,319,  two,  and 
108,324,  three  children.  Here  we  find  471,772, — more  than  one-half 
of  all  the  married  w^omen  in  the  great  State  of  New  York, — who  will 
average  only  one  child  and  seven-tenths  to  each  woman.  These  fig- 
ures include  both  the  foreign  and  American  classes;  but,  as  the  foreign 
have  generally  the  most  children,  the  American  compose  undoubtedly 
by  far  the  largest  proportion  of  the  families  here  mentioned.  Now,  if 
the  law,  settled  by  mortuary  statistics,  that  two-fifths  of  all  children 
bora  die  before  reaching  adult  life,  be  applied  to  these  facts,  scarcely 
is  one  child  here  raised  for  each  woman — that  is,  as  far  as  these  471,- 
772  married  women  in  the  great  State  of  New  York  are  thus  far  re- 
ported. It  is  true  that  a  large  number  of  children  might  afterwards 
be  born  to  these  same  married  women, — possibly  as  many  as  here  re- 
turned in  the  census, — but  even  then  that  would  make  an  average  of 
only  about  2  to  each  married  woman.  It  should  also  be  borne  in 
mind  that  these  returns  of  the  census  include  the  foreign  element  as 
well  as  the  strictly  American  ;  and,  when  it  is  considered  that  the 
former  are  far  more  prolific  than  the  latter,  it  will  be  seen  at  once, 
that  the  American,  at  this  rate,  would  not  begin  to  keep  the  original 
stock  good. 

In  the  County  of  New  York — which  is  mostly  made  up  of  the 
city — reporting  about  one-half  of  its  population  as  foreign — we  find 
this  remarkable  fact : — While  nine  hundred  and  sixty-five  American 
women  had  each  ten  children  and  upwards,  there  were  twenty-eight 
hundred  and  fifty  foreign  women  having  each  ten  children  and  up- 


wards — making  three  times  as  many.  The  compiler  of  this  census 
states  that  he  is  convinced  that  there  is,  at  the  present  time,  no 
increase  of  population  among  the  descendents  of  the  first  settlers  of 
the  State  of  New  York. 

There  is  another  class  of  facts  gathered  by  way  of  comparison? 
which  is  somewhat  curious  and  difficult  of  solution.  It  we  compare 
the  number  of  children  born  by  the  strictly  American,  with  that  of 
the  Irish,  the  Scotch,  the  English  and  the  German,  the  difference  is 
surprising.  We  find  that  the  latter,  both  in  Europe  and  in  this 
country,  have  on  an  average  two,  if  not  three  times  as  many  as  the 
former,  even  though  both  classes  may  live  in  the  same  locality  and 
under  the  same  general  influences. 

Again :  if  we  make  the  comparison  between  the  present  genera- 
tion in  New  England,  and  their  ancestors  living  one  hundred  years 
ago,  we  find  the  number  of  children  at  that  period  averaged  two  or 
three  times  as  many  as  in  the  same  number  of  families  at  the  present 
day.  Here  the  comparison  is  made  between  a  people  of  the  same 
stock,  living  on  the  same  ground,  under  the  same  climate  and  free 
institutions.  A  most  singular  fact  analogous  to  these  is  found  stated 
in  the  Registration  Report  of  Vermont  for  1858,  It  states  that 
while  the  producing  part  of  the  population,  say  from  the  age  of 
fifteen  to  fifty,  was  in  Vermont  almost  precisely  in  the  same  propor- 
tion to  those  under  and  over  these  ages  as  that  in  England,  the  birth- 
rate in  Vermont  was  one  to  forty-nine,  and  in  England  the  same 
year  it  was  one  in  thirty-one ;  and  should  the  foreign  element  in 
Vermont  be  separated,  the  birth-rate  would  be  still  lower — in  fact 
only  about  one-half  as  large  as  that  of  England.  Considering  that 
the  comparison  here  made  is  between  a  people — occupying  the 
healthiest  part  of  New  England,  engaged  principally  in  agricultural 
pursuits  and  scattered  in  settlement — and  a  population  situated  as 
that  of  England  is — living  mostly  in  cities  and  thick  settled  places, 
as  well  as  composed  largely  of  the  extremes  in  society — the  result  is 
certainly  extraordinary. 

Now,  how  can  these  various  facts  be  explained  ?  How  can  they 
be  accounted  for  upon  any  well-known  theories  or  principles  of 
population  ?  Why  should  there  be  such  a  difference  between  the 
number  of  children  of  married  people  at  the  present  day,  and 
families  of  the  same  stock  fifty  or  one  hundred  years  ago  ?  Why 
should  the  Irish,  the  Scotch,  the  English  and  the  German,  living  in 
our  country,  have  two  or  three  times  as  many  children  as  the  same 
number  of  our  American  women  ?  There  must  be  some  radical 


8 


causes  for  these  changes  or  differences.  It  is  justly  said  that  the 
population  of  New  England  has  been  very  much  affected  by  constant 
emigration  to  the  West  and  elsewhere,  but  when  a  careful  examina- 
tion is  made  as  to  the  actual  numbers  emigrating,  and  then,  as  to 
what  should  have  been  the  natural  increase,  it  does  not  account  sat- 
isfactorily for  all  the  changes  in  its  inhabitants.  Moreover  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  comparison  here  instituted,  is  between 
the  same  number  of  married  women,  whether  living  now  or  one 
hundred  years  ago,  of  the  same  stock,  or  between  the  same  number 
of  families  of  different  races  living  at  the  present  time. 

It  has  been  alleged  by  writers  upon  this  subject,  that  unfavorable 
climate,  bad  government,  want  of  food,  epidemic  diseases,  war,  want 
of  marriages  and  prudential  considerations,  have  always  been  found 
to  be  the  principal  causes  in  preventing  an  increase  of  population. 
But  it  will  not  be  pretended  for  a  moment  that  the  four  first  named 
causes,  viz : — climate,  government,  famine  and  pestilence,  could  have 
had  any  effect  in  the  cases  here  mentioned — and  war  could  not  prior 
to  1860,  and  then  only  for  a  few  years ;  neither  could  the  want  of 
marriages,  as  the  marriage  rate  has  fallen  off  comparatively  but  little 
from  former  times  and  is  almost  equal  to  that  of  European  nations 
or  of  their  representatives  in  this  country.  Modern  times  disclose 
the  fact  that  it  is  not  the  number  of  marriages,  but  the  fruitfulness  of 
this  relation  that  tells  on  the  increase  of  population.  The  only  re- 
maining cause — -prudential  considerations — cannot  be  passed  over  so 
lightly.  These  have  had  their  influence  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  ; 
in  postponing  marriage  till  a  later  age  in  life  ;  in  regarding  the  care 
and  expense  of  children  as  a  burden,  as  well  as  in  preferring  pleasure 
and  fashion  to  domestic  duties  and  responsibilities.  To  such  an  ex- 
tent has  this  "  prudence  "  been  carried  that  a  great  variety  of  means 
has  been  adopted  to  prevent  conception,  and  in  case  of  pregnancy,  to 
produce  abortion.  This  practice  has  been  carried  on  so  extensively 
as  to  affect  somewhat  the  increase  of  population — partly  by  its  direct 
effects,  but,  more  indirectly,  by  its  injury  to  the  health  and  constitu- 
tion of  its  victims.  But  passing  by  for  the  present  the  deep  crimin- 
ality and  fearful  extent  of  this  practice,  why  should  such  a  crime 
become  so  prevalent  in  all  classes  of  society — even  with  married 
women  among  the  intelligent,  the  refined  and  the  religious  ?  Why, 
too,  should  the  natural  instincts  of  women  be  so  changed  in  regard 
to  offspring  ?  Why  should  so  low  an  estimate  be  placed  upon  the 
value  of  human  life  ?  Why  should  such  a  persistent  effort  be  made  to 
defeat  one  of  the  most  important  objects  of  the  marriage  institution, 


and  that,  too,  by  a  party  of  all  others  most  deeply  interested  ?  Surely 
there  must  have  occurred  some  radical  changes  in  the  organization 
of  woman  to  account  for  such  an  unnatural  disposition,  as  well  as  for 
this  great  decrease  of  population  from  preceding  generations.  No 
such  facts  can  be  found  in  the  history  of  any  other  civilized  people, 
race,  or  nation  upon  the  globe. 

Having  canvassed  for  many  years  the  questions  here  raised,  from 
different  points  of  view,  and  carefully  examined  the  various  works 
published  on  population,  the  conviction  was  forced  upon  our  mind, 
that  some  important  changes  must  have  occurred  in  the  organization 
of  large  numbers  of  New  England  women,  and  that  there  might 
have  been  sufficient  causes  and  agencies  operating  for  a  long  time  in 
society  to  produce  some  such  change.  vAn  examination  into  these 
changes  going  on  in  New  England  society  developed  in  our  own 
mind  some  IICAV  views  upon  the  great  laws  of  human  increase.  And? 
if  these  views  hold  good  here,  the  laws  on  which  they  are  based  are 
true  everywhere — have  existed  in  all  past  ages,  and  will  be  effective 
in  all  coming  time.  Whatever  changes  may  take  place  in  the  body 
itself  or  in  the  external  world  in  its  influence  upon  the  human  system, 
the  same  great  law  of  increase  still  exists — was  a  part  of  the  consti- 
tution at  its  creation,  and  will  continue  so,  as  long  as  it  is  governed  by 
organic  laws. 

We  are  aware  that  we  are  here  advancing  upon  ground  involv- 
ing questions  the  most  difficult  and  complicated  that  can  be  found  in 
the  whole  range  of  science,  of  philosophy,  of  political  economy,  or  of 
morals — questions  that  have  been  discussed  by  the  ablest  minds,  but 
still  many  of  them  left  in  doubt  and  confusion.  It  may  also  seem 
preposterous  to  think  that  at  this  late  period  in  the  history  of  the 
world  any  new  discovery  of  a  great  organic  law  can  be  developed  in 
such  a  field  of  inquiry ;  but  new  discoveries  and  inventions  of  the 
most  surprising  character  are  continually  being  made  in  other  depart- 
ments of  science.  It  seems  to  be  the  order  of  divine  Providence  that 
the  great  secrets  of  nature  should  be  disclosed  gradually — at  different 
periods  in  history,  and  sometimes  by  very  humble  agencies. 

The  question  might  naturally  arise,  why  this  law  so  fundamental 
and  important  should  not  have  been  discovered  before  ?  We  answer 
that  nearly  all  writers  upon  this  subject  were  looking  principally  to 
other  sources  for  a  law  of  population.  In  describing  the  various 
causes  that  favored  or  prevented  an  increase  of  the  race,  some  writ- 
ers have  scarcely  admitted  that  the  body — the  most  important  agent 
of  all — had  anything  to  do  in  the  matter.  Being  ignorant  themselves 


10 


of  the  science  of  Physiology,  their  attention  has  been  turned  in  every 
other  direction  for  some  cause,  agency  or  influence  to  explain  changes 
in  population,  rather  than  to  the  primary,  fundamental  law  of  human 
organization  itself.  And  what  is  most  singular,  this  same  law  has 
been  applied  for  more  than  half  a  century,  with  wonderful  success, 
in  improving  and  changing  the  development  as  well  as  character  of 
the  animal  creation.  Look  at  those  domestic  animals,  the  horse, 
the  ox,  the  cow  and  the  sheep, — what  wonderful  improvements  and 
changes  have  been  made  here  within  a  few  years;  and  never  was 
this  process  of  change  going  on  so  effectively  as  at  this  very  day. 
Had  the  same  views  always  prevailed  with  reference  to  increase  and 
improvement  in  the  animal  kingdom,  as  have  been  entertained  for 
more  than  half  a  century  respecting  the  human  race,  viz:  that  the 
law  of  increase  depended  mainly  upon  causes  extraneous  to  the 
organization  itself,  the  wonderful  improvements  that  have  been  wit- 
nessed in  domestic  animals,  would  never  have  taken  place.  It  is 
true,  in  the  latter  case,  the  law  can  be  applied  more  readily  and 
extensively,  with  more  immediate  and  direct  effects,  but  still  the 
general  law  in  both  cases  is  the  same. 

Before  attempting  to  describe  the  nature  of  this  law,  with  the 
conditions  affecting  its  operation,  it  may  be  well  to  notice  briefly 
the  different  theories  on  population  that  have  been  promulgated, 
together  with  some  remarks  upon  the  same.  The  leading  principle 
of  Malthus  is,  "  that  population  when  unchecked  increases  in  a  geo- 
metrical ratio,  while  subsistence  increases  only  in  an  arithmetical 
ratio."  Because  it  happened  to  be  ascertained  at  that  time  that 
population  in  the  United  States  doubled  once  in  about  twenty-five 
years,  Malthus  assumed  that  this  was  a  general  law  applicable  to  all 
nations  and  for  all  time ;  whereas,  it  is  a  positive  fact  that  some 
nations  have  doubled  their  population  once  in  fifteen  years,  others  in 
twenty  years,  and  with  others  it  required  forty  or  fifty  years.  That 
is,  Malthus  assumes  that  the  sexual  propensity  is  invariably  a  given 
quantity,  the  same  everywhere  arid  at  all  times.  It  requires  no 
evidence  to  prove  that  this  assumption  is  false,  contrary  to  all  expe- 
rience, all  facts  and  the  common  judgments  of  mankind. 

Again :  it  was  discovered  that  in  Great  Britain  and  in  two  or 
three  other  places,  the  production  of  food  was  not  equal  to  the  wants 
of  an  increasing  population,  and,  as  for  the  sake  of  argument  or  some 
definite  proposition,  it  was  desirable  to  determine  some  relative  pro- 
portion between  the  two  factors,  it  was  assumed  that  the  increase  of 
qne  was  geometrical,  while  that  of  the  other  was  arithmetical.  Now 


11 


no  fact  in  the  history  of  agriculture  is  more  obvious,  than  that  the 
amount  of  food  produced  and  available,  varies  wonderfully  according 
-to  the  differences  in  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  modes  of  cultivation, 
as  well  as  in  the  increased  exchanges  of  food  obtained  by  the  means 
of  the  improvements  in  manufactures  and  commerce.  So  great  and 
variable  has  this  increase  in  different  nations  and  ages  been,  that 
it  seems  impossible  to  determine  it  permanently  in  figures  by  any 
definite  ratio. 

Upon  the  hypothesis  that  population  tended  to  increase  much 
faster  than  the  means  of  subsistence,  Malthus  proceeded  to  collect 
facts  in  the  history  of  the  world  not  only  to  prove  the  principle,  but 
to  show  what  causes  in  different  ages  and  nations  had  operated  to 
prevent  this  increase.  These  causes  he  divides  into  two  classes  called 
"checks — the  positive  and  the  preventive."  Some  of  these  checks, 
such  as  vice,  misery,  poverty,  disease,  &c.,  are  of  human  origin,  and 
result  from  the  violation  of  physical  law,  while  others,  such  as  famine, 
plagues,  epidemics,  earthquakes,  &c.,  might  be  considered  more  prop- 
erly of  divine  origin.  It  certainly  seems  inconsistent  with  the  moral 
attributes  of  the  Creator  that  He  should  establish  a  law  of  population 
that  such  agencies  a.s  are  here  mentioned,  must  be  employed  to  regu- 
late it.  The  "preventive  checks"  are  wholly  under  human  control, 
and  are  capable  of  the  greatest  possible  abuse.  There  are  certain 
features  in  Malthus'  doctrine  of  population  that  have  always  been 
revolting  to  the  moral  sense  of  mankind. 

According  to  the  theory  of  Thomas  Doubleday,  the  law  of 
population  is  connected  with  food  in  such  a  manner,  that  there  is  a 
wonderful  power  inherent  in  nature  to  increase  its  fecundity  or  fer- 
tility, wherever  any  species  or  genus  is  endangered.  He  discusses 
this  provision  of  nature  as  applied  to  the  vegetable  and  animal  king- 
doms under  two  heads,  the  plethoric,  and  the  deplethoric  states — the 
former  as  unfavorable,  and  the  latter  as  favorable  to  fertility.  As  far 
as  Doubleday  explains  and  applies  his  theory,  it  is  not  only  consistent 
with  the  great  laws  of  physiology,  but,  when  carried  out  to  its  fullest 
extent,  it  can  receive  a  complete  and  satisfactory  explanation  only  by 
the  aid  of  these  laws. 

Herbert  Spencer  has  more  recently  published  what  he  calls  a 
"new  theory  on  population"  deduced  from  the  general  law  of  animal 
fertility.  His  theory  is  that  an  antagonism  exists  in  nature  between 
individualism  and  reproduction ;  that  matter  in  its  lower  forms  pos- 
sesses a  stronger  power  of  increase  than  in  all  its  higher  forms ;  that 
the  capacity  of  reproduction  in  animals  is  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  their 


12 


individuation,  and  that  the  ability  to  maintain  individual  life  and 
that  of  multiplication  varies  also  in  the  same  manner.  The  views 
of  Spencer  though  expressed  in  a  great  profusion  of  language,  and 
complicated  with  many  obscure  points  in  philosophy,  when  reduced 
to  the  simple,  practical  tests  of  science,  will  be  found  to  have  a  basis, 
more  or  less,  in  the  great  laws  of  physiology.  Other  writers,  as 
Saddler,  Richards,  and  Fourier  have  presented  various  views  on 
population,  but  neither  of  them  a  well-defined,  complete  and  inde- 
pendent theory  of  itself. 

Works  upon  political  economy  have  treated  all  these  theories 
with  the  greatest  diversity  of  statement,  affording  very  little  instruc- 
tion or  satisfaction  to  any  one. 


In  attempting  to  account  for  certain  anomalous  changes  going 
on  in  the  population  of  New  England,  the  inquiry  arose,  Has  not  the 
human  system  itself  experienced  some  changes  ?  Have  not  certain 
causes  been  operating  through  two  or  three  generations  with  so  much 
power  as  to  affect  the  development — particularly  the  relative  propor- 
tions— of  the  body  itself?  For  the  sake  of  convenience  and  illustra- 
tion, we  shall  adopt  the  division  made  by  some  writers  on  the  human 
body  into  four  distinct  compartments  called  temperaments, — 

The  first  division,  the  brain,  the  spinal  column,  and  nerves  of 
motion  and  sensation  scattered  through  the  body,  called  the  Nervous 
Temperament, — 

Second:  the  heart,  the  lungs  and  all  the  blood-vessels  in  the 
system,  called  the  Sanguine  Temperament, — 

Third :  the  organs  in  the  abdomen,  the  stomach,  bowels,  liver 
and  absorbents,  called  the  Bilious  or  Lymphatic  Temperament, — 

Fourth :  the  muscles,  bones,  ligaments,  constituting  the  motive 
power  of  the  system,  called  the  Muscular  Temperament. 

The  term  temperament,  in  one  sense  denotes  the  result  of  a 
mixture  or  tempering  of  all  the  qualities,  both  physical  and  mental 
of  any  individual,  but,  as  used  here,  it  is  intended  to  apply  more 
particularly  to  the  different  compartments  of  the  body  as  connected 
with  health  and  the  laws  of  human  increase.  As  all  the  organs  in 
the  body  are  included  in  one  or  other  of  these  temperaments,  and  as 
every  organ,  however  insignificant  or  obscure,  has  a  specific  work  to 
do  in  the  animal  economy,  it  is  necessary  that  every  one  of  these 
organs  should  have  its  natural  development  and  perform  its  natural 
functions. 


13 


The  human  body  in  its  normal  or  most  healthy  state  may  be 
compared  to  a  perfect  machine  made  up  of  a  great  variety  of  parts, 
each  part  performing  its  own  work  and  not  interfering  with  that  of 
the  others,  so  that  the  "wear  and  tear"  will  come  upon  all  parts 
of  the  machinery  alike.  Every  mechanic  will  say  at  once  that  such 
a  machine,  thoroughly  constructed  and  kept  in  running  order,  will 
accomplish  for  the  time  being  far  more  work,  and  last  much  longer, 
than  one  poorly  built,  not  well-balanced  in  its  parts,  and  continually 
getting  out  of  order.  This  subject  is  beautifully  illustrated  in  the 
teachings  of  the  Apostle  Paul  where  he  says,  "  The  body  is  not  one 
member  but  many.  .  .  .  God  hath  set  the  members  of  every  one  of 
them  in  the  body  as  it  hath  pleased  him.  .  .  .  The  eye  cannot  say 
unto  the  hand,  I  have  no  need  of  thee ;  nor  again  the  head  to  the 
feet,  I  have  no  need  of  you.  And  whether  one  member  suffer,  all 
the  members  suffer  with  it,  or  one  member  be  honored,  all  the  mem- 
bers rejoice  wTith  it."  We  are  here  taught,  if  there  is  a  seeming 
difference  in  the  importance  of  the  functions  and  relations  of  these 
members,  they  are  all  necessary  in  making  up  the  whole  body, 
and  the  rights  of  each  must  be  respected. 

And  if  this  law  is  true  when  applied  to  individual  members  of 
the  body,  it  must  hold  good  with  still  greater  force,  when  applied  to 
a  whole  class  of  organs  included  under  the  head  of  one  of  the  tem- 
peraments. Here  is  the  great  trouble  with  the  human  system.  These 
temperaments  are  not  equally  developed  ;  are  not  well-balanced  ;  do 
not  assist  each  other  in  their  respective  functions,  by  doing  severally 
their  own  proper  work,  but  constantly  interfere,  thus  violating  the 
laws  of  nature.  In  carrying  on  the  operations  of  the  animal  economy, 
it  is  clearly  the  design  of  nature  that  there  should  be  a  perfect  union 
or  harmony  of  these  temperaments — that  such  was  the  development 
of  the  human  body  at  its  creation,  and  that  in  such  a  state,  it  is 
found  most  exempt  from  disease,  is  capable  of  performing  the  great- 
est amount  of  labor,  of  receiving  the  greatest  amount  of  enjoyment, 
as  well  as  reaching  its  greatest  longevity. 

It  is  here,  at  this  very  point,  where  starts  or  is  grounded  the  great 
law  of  human  increase  upon  a  perfect  development  of  all  the  organs 
in  the  body — constituting  a  'perfect  union  or  harmony  between  the  tem- 
peraments. This  presupposes  that  all  other  conditions  are  favorable, 
such  as  the  age,  the  health,  the  union  and  adaptation  of  the  married 
parties ;  that,  with  this  standard  of  organization,  and  provided  the 
laws  of  nature  are  not  violated  or  interfered  with,  there  will  uniformly 
be  found  not  only  the  greatest  number  of  children,  but  they  will  be 
endowed  with  the  highest  amount  of  physical  vigor  and  health. 


14 


It  is  true,  there  may  be  a  great  variety  of  conditions,  or  powerful 
factors  that  enter  largely  into  its  operations  and  modify  essentially 
its  results,  but,  here  in  the  perfect  organization  of  the  human  system, 
has  this  great  law  of  population  its  germ,  its  seat  and  foundation. 
The  common  sense  of  mankind,  which  is  applied  to  the  practical 
duties  of  life,  as  well  as  to  the  numerous  facts  in  science,  would 
certainly  incline  us  to  believe  that  the  body  itself,  in  its  various  states 
and  ever-changing  forms,  must  constitute  the  most  prominent,  if  not 
the  principal  agency,  in  the  functions  of  increase.  To  establish  a 
general  law  which  is  to  have  the  greatest  possible  agency  in  develop- 
ing the  nature  of  a  body  and  controlling  its  very  existence,  the 
presumption  is  that  such  a  law  must  be  evolved,  in  some  Avay,  from 
the  designs  had  in  the  creation  of  that  body.  Such  has  been  found 
by  experience  and  observation  to  be  the  fact  in  reference  to  the  great 
laws  that  pervade  the  whole  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms.  And 
though  there  may  be  objects  and  agencies  extraneous  to  the  body 
itself,  that  may  have  a  powerful  influence  over  its  development,  yet  the 
most  important  law  of  all — the  law  that  shapes  its  life,  character  and 
destiny — must  have  its  seat  and  foundation  somewhere  in  the  system 
itself.  Such  we  should  naturally  suppose  Avould  be  the  fact  in  the  case 
of  man,  the  highest  and  the  noblest  work  of  the  Creator,  and  where 
human  agency  and  accountability  have  more  to  do  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  world.  Whereas  an  examination  into  the  views  and 
theories  of  most  writers  upon  population  shows,  that  the  laws  which 
they  lay  down  for  its  increase  have  been  controlled  almost  wholly 
by  agents  or  objects  entirely  external  to  the  body,  and  some  of  them 
holding  only  remote  or  indirect  relations  to  it. 

The  standard  of  physiology  upon  which  the  laws  of  population 
are  here  based,  is  the  same  perfect  organization  of  man  as  when  he 
came  from  the  hands  of  his  Maker  and  was  pronounced  not  only 
"very  good,"  but  was  commanded  to  "be  fruitful  and  multiply,  and 
replenish  the  earth  and  subdue  it."  But  by  man's  course  of  disobe- 
i  dience  and  rebellion,  he  lost  not  only  the  moral  image  and  likeness 
\  of  his  Creator,  but  that  harmony  and  perfection  in  his  physical  organi- 
zation which  he  has  never  yet  regained. 

This  same  balance  or  union  of  the  temperaments  constitutes  the 
standard  for  the  greatest  amount  of  health,  of  longevity  and  strength 
that  can  ever  be  found  in  the  human  system.  This  is  proved  by  the 
laws  of  physiology,  as  well  as  by  facts  gathered  from  experience, 
observation  and  history.  This  same  organization  presents  the  only 
perfect  standard  of  beauty  for  the  human  form ;  for  there  is  such  a 


15 


standard  founded  in  nature  and  represented  by  art — -:i  perfect  stand- 
ard of  beautiful  figure  for  the  eye,  as  well  as  of  taste  for  the  mind, 
when  all  its  faculties  are  trained  and  cultivated  to  their  highest 
degree.  Accordingly  whenever  models  of  the  best  specimens  of  the 
race  have  been  adduced,  they  have  always  exhibited  this  harmonious 
development  of  the  human  body.  The  Apollo  Belvidere,  the  immor- 
tal work  of  the  Greek  chisel,  and  the  Venus  de  Medicis,  represent 
a  well-balanced  organization — all  parts  of  the  system  in  beautiful 
symmetry,  the  vital  organs  large,  the  limbs,  the  muscles,  the  bones, 
the  blood-vessels,  the  nerves,  distinct  and  clearly  defined,  nothing 
too  strong,  nothing  too  weak,  nothing  in  excess,  nothing  deficient. 
But  noth withstanding  such  a  standard  or  model  of  human  organiza- 
tion is  set  before  us,  the  reality  is  nowhere  to  be  found.  No  nation, 
or  race,  or  tribe,  or  people  upon  the  globe  can  present  perfect  living 
examples,  containing  all  the  organs  of  the  body  in  a  perfectly  healthy 
and  well-balanced  state.  They  can  only  offer  approximations  to  this 
standard. 

Now,  the  human  constitution  as  represented  by  these  tempera- 
ments has  been  constantly  varying  in  every  age  and  with  all  classes 
of  people.  The  causes  of  these  changes  originate  partly  within  the 
body,  and  partly  from  external  agencies  and  influences.  They  often 
change  materially,  and  sometimes  radically,  with  the  same  individual 
between  the  cradle  and  the  grave.  Slight  changes  in  the  organization 
do  not  affect  much  the  physical  or  mental  character  of  an  individual 
or  people ;  but  when  a  certain  class  of  organs  or  one  of  these  tem- 
peraments, becomes  very  predominent,  it  has  a  most  marked  and 
sometimes  serious  effect. 

We  have  dwelt  somewhat  at  length  upon  the  importance  of  this 
balance  of  organs,  for  it  is  the  key  not  only  to  a  sound  constitution, 
perfect  health  and  long  life,  but  to  the  law  of  increase.  Nearly  all 
the  diseases,  pains  and  weaknesses  of  the  body  are  but  the  result  of 
deviations  from  this  harmony,  and  an  observance  of  the  great  laws 
of  life  and  health  looks  towards  restoring  this  balance.  Ifj  then,  this 
balancing  of  all  the  organs  in  the  body  is  found  necessary  for  the 
greatest  amount  of  health  and  longevity  of  the  race,  may  it  not 
become  equally  necessary  for  its  increase  ?  If  only  now  and  then 
a  single  individual  in  the  community  was  found  with  a  constitution 
badly  diseased  or  imperfectly  developed,  its  hereditary  effects  would 
not  be  very  perceptible ;  but  when  large  numbers  or  a  majority  are 
found  so  constituted,  not  more  than  one  or  two  generations  can 
sibly  pass  before  such  effects  become  marked  and  well  known. 


16 


It  is  now  generally  believed  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  hereditary  descent,  that  the  mother,  not  the  father,  transmits  the 
vitality,  the  stamina,  the  strength  of  the  physical  system  to  the  child, 
It  becomes,  then,  a  question  of  the  highest  importance  that  women 
especially  should  have  sound  and  well-balanced  organizations.  If 
the  law  of  human  increase  is  based  upon  physiology,  it  becomes 
doubly  important  that  the  organization  of  women  should  be  as  per- 
fect as  possible.  For  it  is  a  law,  running  through  the  whole  animal 
and  vegetable  creation,  that  an  organization  badly  diseased  or  imper- 
fectly developed,  has  a  direct  tendency  to  decline  both  in  vitality  and 
fruitfulness.  And  can  a  law  that  is  here  of  so  general  application  be 
made  an  exception  in  the  case  of  the  human  race  ? 

Now,  the  evidences  of  the  general  ill-health  of  the  American — 
and  particularly  of  the  New  England  women — as  gathered  from 
travelers,  newspapers,  journals,  medical  works,  and  physicians,  are  so 
abundant,  that  they  have  nowhere  been  called  in  question.  Many 
of  the  causes  and  effects  of  this  ill  health  have  been  more  or  less 
discussed,  but  in  no  place  has  its  connection  with  the  increase  of 
population  been  carefully  considered.  When  the  nature  and  peculiar 
character  of  these  complaints  are  fully  considered — and  that  many 
of  them  are  not  found  so  prevalent  in  any  other  part  of  the  world — 
it  is  clearly  evident  that  they  interfere  seriously  with  the  laws  of 
increase.  And  there  are  reasons  to  believe  that  these  peculiar  dis- 
eases and  weaknesses  are  every  year  multiplying,  so  that,  in  process 
of  time,  they  will  have  a  still  more  powerful  effect  upon  the  increase 
of  population. 

It  has  long  been  the  opinion  of  medical  writers  that  married 
women  on  the  whole,  have  better  health  and  live  longer  than  those 
in  single  life.  And  very  recently  Dr.  J.  Stark,  of  Edinburgh,  proved 
this  fact  most  conclusively  from  an  examination  on  a  large  scale,  of 
the  Registration  Reports  of  Scotland.  It  should  be  observed,  that 
this  fact  is  here  demonstrated  among  a  class  of  women  somewhat 
distinguished  for  having  large  families,  and  might  not  hold  good  in  a 
community  where  large  numbers  of  married  women  have  no  children. 
The  organization  of  woman,  the  history  of  her  diseases,  and  the  rate 
of  mortality,  demonstrate  that  married  life  and  the  production  of 
children  are  one  of  the  primary  objects  of  her  creation.  Physiology, 
pathology  and  all  history  upon  the  great  laws  of  life  and  health  prove 
this  beyond  controversy  as  a  general  law.  There  may  be  exceptions 
to  this  general  rule,  but  it  is  a  law  which  God  has  made  applicable  to 
all  races  and  nations ;  and  whatever  institutions,  habits  or  practices 


17 


interfere  with  its  execution,  are  abnormal,  are  deviations  from  the 
laws  of  nature  and  of  God. 

What,  then,  are  the  obvious  teachings  of  Revelation  in  regard 
to  marriage  ?  These  teachings  may  be  presented  by  giving  the  view.s 
held  both  by  the  Episcopal  and  Catholic  churches,  which  embrace  the 
largest  Christian  denominations  in  the  world.  These  views,  professed 
to  be  derived  from  Revelation,  are  sustained  not  only  by  the  greatest 
possible  experience  that  can  be  obtained  in  the  whole  history  of  man, 
but  are  found  to  harmonize  perfectly  with  the  great  laws  of  human 
organization.  The  propositions  laid  down  in  the  marriage  service  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  state  in  these  words,  that  this  institution  is 
ordained  for  three  purposes — "  (1)  the  procreation  and  education  of 
children ;  (2)  the  avoidance  of  incontinence ;  and  (3)  the  mutual 
society,  help  and  comfort  of  the  married  pair?  Any  union  of  the 
sexes  in  which  provision  is  not  made  for  fulfilling  every  one  of  these 
purposes,  or  which  tails  in  so  doing,  comes  so  far  short  of  securing 
the  great  objects  of  this  institution.  To  what  precise  extent  either 
or  all  these  points  are  met  in  the  marriage  relations  of  the  present 
day,  it  might  be  difficult  to  decide. 

By  the  great  number  of  divorces  occurring  in  this  country,  as 
well  as  from  the  increasing  troubles  in  domestic  life,  it  is  quite  evident 
that  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  God,  as  here  enjoined  in  marriage,  are 
not  very  faithfully  observed.  Is  there  not  good  reason  to  believe 
that  this  institution  is  regarded  too  much  at  the  present  day  by  large 
numbers  as  a  mere  partnership,  intended  only  for  the  comfort,  con- 
venience and  interests  of  the  parties  forming  it  ?  In  attempting  any 
reform  here,  should  we  not  come  back  to  first  principles,  the  laws  of 
nature  ? 

It  is  reported  that  there  has  been  an  alarming  increase  of  vice  and 
immorality  in  certain  parts—especially  in  the  large  cities — of  France 
and  Germany,  and  it  is  found  upon  careful  inquiry  that  these  evils 
arise  from  breaking  down  the  sacredness  of  the  family  institution, 
more  than  from  any  other  source.  Are  there  not  agencies  and  influ- 
ences operating  here  that  in  like  manner  threaten  the  security  and 
permanency  of  this  institution  ?  The  agitation  which  has  sprung  up 
within  a  few  years  with  reference  to  the  wrongs,  the  rights  and  the 
employments  of  women,  presents  questions  complicated  with  domes- 
tic and  public  relations  which  are  found  most  difficult  and  delicate  to 
settle. 

In  the  discussion  of  this  great  subject,  and  in  the  attempts  to 
adjust  the  points  of  right  and  duty  involved,  it  becomes  necessary 


18 


to  inquire  what  are  the  teachings  of  the  laws  of  nature — the  laws  of 
life  and  health — not  only  of  individuals,  but  collectively  of  the  race? 
Here  is  a  stand-point  for  canvassing  this  whole  subject  of  vast  im- 
portance. Any  changes  in  the  situation,  employment  and  position 
of  woman  that  shall  tend  to  improve  her  general  health,  and  perfect 
her  physical  organization,  are  certainly  above  all  things  most  desir- 
able— not  merely  for  her  own  sake,  but  on  account  of  the  relations 
she  may  sustain  to  others.  In  determining  just  what  these  changes 
should  be  and  to  what  extent  they  may  be  safely  carried,  the  question 
arises  at  once,  what  will  be  their  eifect  upon  the  organization  and 
character  of  woman  in  respect  to  the  institution  of  marriage  and  the 
perpetuation  of  the  race  ?  While  some  persons  might  prefer  to  cany 
on  this  discussion  and  reform  without  any  regard  to  questions  of  this 
nature,  no  final  adjustment  of  right  and  duty  can  here  be  permanently 
secured,  except  as  based  upon  the  great  laws  of  the  human  constitu- 
tion. God  has  so  constituted  his  creatures  that  the  laws  of  their 
own  being  cannot  long  be  ignored  or  violated  with  impunity.  The 
marriage  and  parental  relations  constitute  the  ground  work,  the  foun- 
dation stones,  the  main  pillars  of  all  human  society,  and  no  changes 
should  be  countenanced  or  tolerated  lor  a  moment  that  tend  in  any 
way  to  weaken  or  destroy  these  relations.  Admitting  that  the  law 
of  increase  as  here  advocated  is  true,  it  presents  new  views  of  the 
highest  importance  as  to  all  those  means,  influences  and  agencies  that 
are  calculated  to  change  the  organization  and  character  of  woman. 
This  subject  opens  from  this  point  of  view  a  most  inviting  field  for 
discussion,  but  the  facts  and  arguments  in  proof  of  this  law  claim  at 
the  present  time  and  on  this  occasion  our  more  immediate  attention, 
and  must  be  presented  in  a  brief  or  summary  manner. 

This  theory  is  sustained  directly  by  all  the  leading  principles  of 
Physiology.  In  a  general  sense,  the  laws  of  hereditary  descent  have 
always  been  admitted,  though  there  may  have  been  differences  of 
opinion  how  far  these  influences  extended.  It  is  a  fact,  we  believe, 
that  the  more  carefully  and  thoroughly  these  laws  have  been  investi- 
gated, the  more  uniformly  and  extensively  have  they  been  found  to 
prevail.  Now,  this  law  of  increase  is  but  the  perfecting  or  carrying 
out  of  these  same  hereditary  tendencies.  The  more  perfect  the  or- 
ganization of  the  parent,  the  more  perfect  that  of  the  offspring.  The 
same  kind  of  evidence  that  proves  the  existence  of  any  hereditary 
agency  at  all,  sustains  also  the  law  of  human  increase. 

Again  :  Every  organ  or  class  of  organs  in  the  system  must  receive 
its  proportion  of  nutrition.  Dr.  Carpenter,  in  his  work  on.  Physiology, 


19 


makes  this  statement :  "  There  is  a  certain  antagonism  between  the 
nutritive  and  reproductive  functions,  the  one  being  exercised  at  the 
expense  of  the  other.  The  reproductive  apparatus  derives  the  mate- 
rials of  its  operations  through  the  nutritive  system,  and  its  functions. 
If,  therefore,  it  is  in  a  state  of  excessive  activity,  it  will  necessarily 
draw  off  from  the  individual  fabric  some  portion  of  the  aliment  des- 
tined for  its  maintenance.  It  may  be  universally  observed  that  when 
the  nutritive  functions  are  particularly  active  in  supporting  the  indi- 
vidual, the  reproductive  system  is  undeveloped,  and  vice  versa"  Here 
is  a  powerful  argument  from  the  highest  physiological  authority ;  and 
the  statement  so  simple  and  plausible  must  commend  itself  to  the  com- 
mon-sense and  judgment  of  every  person.  Let  any  class  of  organs 
or  portions  of  the  body  be  unduly  or  excessively  exercised,  and  it  re- 
quires the  more  nutriment  to  support  it,  thereby  withdrawing  what 
naturally  should  go  to  other  organs.  Let  any  one  of  the  tempera- 
ments become  too  predominant,  and  the  others  must  suffer  more  or 
less.  Let  this  be  continued  through  two  or  three  generations,  and  the 
evil  becomes  intensified.  A  negative  argument  may  also  be  deduced 
from  physiology.  In  all  the  works  treating  of  "  impotence  "  and  "  ster- 
ility," the  causes  are  generally  found  to  exist  in  a  feeble  or  diseased 
state  of  some  parts  of  the  body,  or  to  arise  from  the  abuse  of  certain 
organs.  Such  causes  are  not  often,  if  ever,  found  in  a  well  developed 
and  proportioned  body,  where,  too,  the  laws  of  life  and  health  have 
always  been  properly  observed. 

There  is  another  class  of  facts  that  cannot  be  satisfactorily  ex- 
plained upon  any  other  hypothesis.  The  sacred  scriptures  clearly 
intimate,  that  there  is  something  wrong  in  the  intermarrying  of  blood 
relations,  and,  by  the  laws  of  Moses,  it  was  forbidden  u  within  the 
third  degree."  Both  the  Greeks  and  Romans  observed  these  facts, 
and  proclaimed  that  such  marriages  were  "  prejudicial  to  the  healthy 
propagation  of  the  species."  The  Catholic  church  very  early  opposed 
it,  and  adopted  a  standing  order  or  canon  against  all  such  alliances. 
A  great  number  of  facts  have  been  gathered,  both  in  Europe  and  in 
our  own  country,  which  prove  that  such  marriages  beget  not  only  a 
class  of  the  worst  diseases  and  complaints,  such  as  scrofula,  consump- 
tion, epilepsy,  deafness,  idiocy,  deformities  of  the  body,  etc.,  but,  in 
many  cases  that  they  run  out  entirely  in  offspring,  within  two  or 
three  generations.  Here  is  a  class  of  facts  that  have  been  accumu- 
lating for  over  four  thousand  years,  and  have  never  yet  received  any 
satisfactory  solution.  They  would  never  have  been  noticed  in  the 
scriptures,  nor  secured  the  attention  they  have,  unless  they  origi- 


20 


nated  from  some  fixed  causes  or  laws  existing  in  the  constitution  itself 
These  facts  and  causes  can  be  rationally  explained  only  upon  such  prin- 
ciples of  physiology  as  are  connected  with  this  great  law  of  increase. 
A  similar  collection  of  facts  may  be  obtained  from  the  history  of  fami- 
lies intermarrying,  belonging  to  a  particular  class,  moving  in  a  certain 
circle,  and  possessing  similar  organization  and  character,  such  as  the 
royal  families  of  Europe,  the  patricians  of  Rome,  the  nobility  of  France, 
the  peerage  of  England,  &c.  It  is  well  known  that  in  nearly  all  these 
orders,  there  has  been  as  a  whole,  a  marked  tendency  to  degeneracy 
in  their  offspring,  as  well  as  to  the  entire  extinction  of  these  families. 
In  our  own  country,  we  have  no  distinct  orders  or  classes,  but,  in 
certain  circles  or  localities,  where  the  same  families  have  intermar- 
ried more  or  less  for  several  generations,  there  has  been  observed  in 
their  descendants  a  decided  decay,  as  well  as  diminution  of  numbers. 
These  facts  find  a  ready  explanation  in  the  principles  of  physiology 
as  here  set  forth. 

Facts  and  arguments  of  the  most  convincing  nature  can  be  ad- 
duced in  favor  of  this  theory  of  population  from  the  vegetable  and 
animal  kingdoms.  The  same  general  laws  that  govern  all  organic 
matter  here,  govern  and  control  all  the  changes  that  take  place  in  the 
human  system.  It  is  true  there  may  be  some  points  of  variance  and 
some  modifications  that  are  not  strictly  analogous,  but,  in  the  main, 
the  general  principles  operating  in  these  several  departments  are  the 
same.  The  wonderful  improvements  and  changes  that  have  been 
brought  about  within  a  few  years  in  domestic  animals,  have  all  been 
effected  by  the  application  of  laws  similar  to  what  prevail  in  human 
physiology.  We  cannot  enter  here  into  detailed  points  of  proof,  but 
confidently  assert  that  by  a  careful  comparison  and  analysis,  the  law 
of  increase  here  advocated  will  throw  a  flood  of  light  upon  certain 
parts  of  vegetable  and  animal  physiology ;  while  on  the  other  hand 
facts  deduced  from  these  two  departments  of  science  afford  the 
strongest  possible  evidence  in  proof  of  this  same  law  of  human 
increase. 

This  theory  of  increase  receives  strong  proof  from  the  history 
of  three  classses  of  people.  First,  from  the  most  healthy  and  best- 
balanced  organizations  to  be  found,  where  the  temperaments  are 
nearest  equally  represented.  According  to  our  theory,  such  a  class 
will  have  the  greatest  number  of  children,  combined  with  the  highest 
degree  of  strength,  vigor  and  health.  Such  were  the  early  settlers 
of  New  England ;  next  perhaps  may  be  reckoned  the  better  portion 
of  the  Irish  race,  whether  living  in  Ireland  or  America,  together  with 


21 


a  middling  class  of  the  German,  Scotch  and  English.  It  was  the 
united  sentiment  of  a  learned  body  in  Europe  (expressed  many  years 
since),  after  a  careful  review  and  thorough  discussion  of  the  leading 
characteristics  of  different  nations,  that  the  "  Scotch  brain  placed 
upon  the  Irish  body  furnished  the  best  material  for  the  highest  order 
of  physical  and  mental  development  to  be  found  in  the  world." 
Many  illustrations  of  this  character  may  be  found  in  the  history  of 
some  portions  of  our  own  country. 

In  the  second  class  where  either  the  muscular,  lymphatic,  or 
sanguine  temperament  greatly  predominates,  few  or  no  children  are 
found.  Here  the  nutrition  goes  mainly  to  support  the  body  of  the 
individual,  and  the  merely  animal  nature  becomes  excessive.  Such 
examples  are  rare  in  a  highly  civilized  state  of  society,  but  abound 
among  a  savage  or  a  barbarous  people.  It  has  always  been  observed 
that  excessively  fleshy  people  are  not  very  prolific  in  offspring ;  and, 
nowhere  in  the  history  of  the  world  can  be  found  a  tribe  or  race, 
living  in  a  purely  savage,  barbarous  state,  leading  a  low,  coarse, 
sensual,  animal  life,  that  has  been  at  all  fruitful  in  children  through 
several  successive  generations.  The  laws  of  nature  have  wisely  fixed 
limitations  to  the  increase  as  well  as  prosperity  of  such  a  people. 

The  third  class  include  the  other  extreme  in  society — those  having 
a  great  predominance  of  the  nervous  temperament.  Here  the  brain 
and  nervous  system  prevail  in  excess,  accompanied  with  a  deficiency 
of  the  muscular  and  vital  temperaments.  This  class  is  very  numer- 
ous, and  rapidly  increasing  under  our  present  type  of  civilization. 
The  brain  and  nervous  system  are  exercised  too  much,  compared  with 
other  parts  of  the  body,  and  require  for  their  support  an  undue  pro- 
portion of  nutrition  and  blood.  In  this  class  may  be  found  some, 
especially  women — who,  commencing  early  in  life,  have  been  closely 
confined  to  books  and  literary  pursuits ;  others,  whose  minds  have 
always  been  kept  under  a  severe  pressure  or  strain  from  cares,  anxie- 
ties, fashions  or  excitements  of  some  kind  ;  others  still,  who,  inherit- 
ing a  decided  nervous  temperament,  and  neglecting  physical  exercise, 
live  luxuriously,  and  depend  for  their  enjoyment  very  much  upon  the 
excitements  of  the  day.  All  such  women  have  few  children,  and  find 
much  difficulty  in  rearing  what  they  do  have. 

There  are  certain  agencies  now  operating  upon  society  with 
great  power,  which  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  develop  and  inten- 
sify this  organization.  Illustrations  of  this  character  may  be  found 
everywhere  throughout  the  country,  but  are,  perhaps,  most  strikingly 
manifest  on  a  large  scale  in  New  England,  especially  in  Massachu- 


22 


setts.  Within  fifty  or  one  hundred  years,  there  has  been  here  a  great 
change  in  the  organization  and  character  of  females.  Once  they 
were  generally  mothers  of  large  families,  possessed  strong,  healthy 
constitutions,  and  lived  to  a  good  old  age.  Once  they  performed 
mostly  their  own  housework — did  not  injure  their  bodies  by  fashion 
in  dress,  or  have  their  brains  and  nerves  racked  by  any  high-pressure 
principle.  But  what  a  contrast  do  the  women  of  this  generation 
present  to  such  examples  ? 

The  causes  of  this  change  arise  principally  from  three  sources, 
and  the  effects  upon  the  constitution  are  so  marked  as  to  require  a 
more  particular  description.  First  cause  :  a  large  proportion  of  do- 
mestic labor,  particularly  in  cities,  has  now  passed  from  the  hands  of 
New  England  women  to  foreign  help — especially  all  that  is  hard  and 
laborious.  It  is  a  law  in  physiology  that  exercise,  and  exercise  alone, 
develops  and  strengthens  the  muscles ;  no  kind  of  exercise  whatever 
accomplishes  this  so  readily  and  thoroughly  as  housework.  As  a 
consequence,  principally  of  this  neglect,  the  female  constitution  in 
those  cases  is  reduced  in  vigor  and  strength  ;  the  muscles  are  soft 
and  flabby,  and  cannot  bear  much  hardship  or  exposure ;  there  is  a 
want  generally  of  physical  stamina  and  power  of  endurance. 

The  second  cause  :  The  fashions  of  the  day  or  style  of  dress  are 
directly  calculated  to  change  the  form  of  the  body — to  displace  the 
internal  organs  and  interfere  seriously  with  their  functions.  The 
compression  of  the  chest  and  abdomen  prevents  the  proper  expansion 
of  the  lungs  as  well  as  oxygenation  of  the  blood ;  it  obstructs  the 
natural  action  of  the  heart  and  healthy  circulation  of  the  vital  fluid  ; 
it  disturbs  the  healthy  action  of  the  stomach  and  bowels,  tending  to 
produce  indigestion  and  costiveness ;  it  depresses  more  or  less  all  the 
internal  organs — causing  weakness  and  disease  especially  of  those  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  pelvis — which  seriously  interfere  with  the  great 
laws  of  reproduction.  Not  only  the  functions  of  these  particular 
organs  are  injured,  but  the  general  health  is  sensibly  impaired  by  it. 
The  sanguine  and  lymphatic  temperaments  are  thus  not  sufficiently 
developed  to  produce  generally  that  amount  of  nutrition  and  vitality 
in  the  system  so  necessary  for  carrying  on  all  the  operations  of  nature. 
And  by  the  laws  of  hereditary  descent  these  weaknesses  and  inequali- 
ties are  transmitted — in  many  instances  very  much  intensified. 

The  third  cause  arises  from  the  early,  persistent  and  continued 
strain  upon  the  brain  and  nervous  system,  to  the  neglect  of  other 
parts  of  the  body.  The  girl  is  sent  to  school  at  the  age  of  five  or 
six,  and  kept  there  with  short  intermissions  till  sixteen  or  eighteen, 


23 


without  much  regard  to  physical  exercise ; — at  a  period  in  life — the 
only  chance  it  has — when  all  parts  of  the  body  should  have  healthy 
growth,  complete  development  and  consolidation  of  strength.  In 
the  completion  of  her  education,  there  may  be  found  the  highest 
order  of  social  qualities,  personal  accomplishments,  mental  attain- 
ments and  moral  character,  but  engrafted  upon  a  physical  system 
entirely  unfitted  for  domestic  labor,  for  the  practical  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  every  day  life,  as  well  as  for  the  fulfillment  of  the 
great  laws  of  maternity.  Besides,  a  large  portion  of  the  influences, 
arising  at  the  present  time,  from  society,  fashions,  amusements,  read- 
ing, and  various  excitements  of  the  day,  are  peculiarly  adapted  to 
increase  and  intensify  this  nervous  temperament.  It  is  true,  while 
this  same  organization  presents  the  highest  type  of  refinement,  taste, 
culture,  piety,  &c.,  it  is  at  the  same  time  accompanied  with  the  most 
serious  "drawbacks/'  It  illustrates  the  principle  of  Fourier,  that 
"just  in  proportion  as  individuals  or  a  community  become  perfected 
in  civilization,  in  the  same  proportion  the  race  inclines  to  run  out ;" 
but  how  this  happens  and  upon  what  principles  it  depends,  he  did 
not  tell  us.  The  theory  of  human  increase  as  based  upon  the  laws 
of  physiology  explains  this  matter.  It  shows  that  God  has  set  limits 
to  the  progress  and  perfectibility  of  man  in  this  particular  direction. 
Here  is  the  danger  or  tendency  of  such  a  type  of  education,  civiliza- 
tion and  religion  as  prevails  at  the  present  day. 

This  great  predominance  of  the  nervous  temperament  is  unfavor- 
able in  a  variety  of  ways,  to  the  increase  of  population.  As  a  general 
rule,  people  highly  educated  and  following  pursuits  that  severely  and 
continuously  tax  the  brain  and  the  nervous  system,  have  fewer  children 
than  persons  engaged  in  manual  labor  for  a  livelihood.  It  is  a  fact 
well  established  by  history  that  neither  men  nor  women  distinguished 
for  genius  and  literary  attainments  have  ever  as  a  class  been  prolific 
in  offspring.  Many  examples  of  this  kind  could  be  adduced  where 
such  families  have  actually  run  out,  and  the  name  has  become  extinct. 

This  constant  and  excessive  exercise  of  the  brain  and  nerves, 
especially  in  woman,  consumes  all  the  vitality  generated  in  her  sys- 
tem from  day  to  day,  thereby  withdrawing  the  stimulus  and  nutrition 
which  should  go  to  support  other  parts  of  the  body.  .The  vital  tem- 
perament— including  the 'lungs,  the  heart,  and  the  digestive  organs — 
has  not  sufficient  development  and  strength  to  provide  the  requisite 
materials  for  healthy  gestation.  And  then  in  case  of  bearing  offspring, 
the  frail,  delicate  organization  of  the  mother  easily  breaks  down  and 
her  constitution  is  used  up  in  having  one,  two,  or  three  children. 


24 


Besides  such  is  the  deficiency  of  the  vital  temperament  that  the 
nourishment  which  nature  designed  cannot  be  found  for  the  child, 
and  artificial  means  of  support  must  be  resorted  to,  which  greatly 
endangers  its  life. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  some  medical  men  of  extended  observation 
and  who  have  made  particular  inquiries  on  this  subject,  that  not 
more  than  one-half 'of  our  American  women  now  nurse  their  children. 
Some  will  not  do  it ;  others  cannot,  having  neither  the  organs  nor 
the  nourishment  requisite  for  it,  and  large  numbers  who  attempt  it, 
can  furnish  only  a  partial  supply.  In  confirmation  of  this  statement, 
here  is  the  answer  to  an  inquiry  made  of  the  manufacturer  of  a 
new  and  high-priced  nursing-bottle,  just  introduced  to  the  market ; 
his  sales  for  the  last  year,  he  replies,  amounted  to  "Jive  hundred 
gross," — that  is  72,000,  and  in  his  judgment  "the  sale  of  nursing- 
bottles  in  the  United  States  must  amount  yearly,  all  told,  the  cheap 
and  the  more  expensive,  to  not  less  than  fifty  thousand  gross" 
What  a  contrast  do  these  facts  present  in  the  sale  and  use  of  this 
article  as  compared  with  the  same  fifty  or  one  hundred  years  ago, 
when  such  a  thing  as  a  nursing-bottle  was  here  scarcely  known  ?  Do 
not  these  facts  argue  some  change  not  only  in  the  disposition,  but 
in  the  physical  organization  of  woman  ? 

Besides  the  great  danger  attending  this  artificial  feeding,  the 
child  itself  inherits  the  active  brain  and  sensitiveness  of  the  mother ; 
the  vital  organs  are  all  small ;  there  is  a  want  of  arterial  blood ;  the 
child  naturally  has  a  feeble  hold  of  life,  and  great  numbers  of  such 
infants  die  in  spite  of  the  best  medical  skill,  nursing  and  care.  When 
all  these  things  are  taken  into  account,  the  alarming  infant  mortality 
at  the  present  day  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 

It  may  be  said,  perhaps,  that  this  imperfect  organization  and 
these  mental  defects  of  character  described  here  are  wholly  confined 
to  New  England  ;  that,  in  the  great  West,  with  its  large  lakes  and 
rivers,  its  boundless  prairies  and  inexhaustible  soil,  no  such  evils 
exist.  But  is  it  so  ?  And  is  there  no  danger  ?  It  is  said,  that  the 
emigrants  from  New  England  to  the  West  do  better  than  those  re- 
maining at  home.  They  should  be  more  fruitful ;  as  a  class,  they 
have  more  physical  energy — more  vitality  and  stamina  of  constitu- 
tion. It  is  mainly  this  very  organization  that  moves  them  to  change 
their  residence.  And  then,  the  influences  of  a  new  country  as  well 
as  the  inter-mixture  by  marriage,  by  association,  by  business,  <fcc.,  of 
a  people  composed  of  different  races  and  types  of  character,  have 
always  proved  favorable  to  an  increase  of  population.  It  undoubt- 
edly holds  good  in  the  present  instance. 


But  do  no  such  evils  as  have  been  here  portrayed  threaten  the 
West?  Is  there  no  danger  in  its  high  political  excitements,  its  intense 
pressure  of  business,  its  rapid  accumulations  of  wealth,  &c..  of  injury  to 
the  physical  organization  ?  Is  there  no  intemperance,  no  licentious- 
ness, no  kind  of  extravagance  in  living,  nor  form  of  fashion  in  society, 
nor  modes  of  education,  that  constantly  violate  the  laws  of  the 
human  constitution  ?  It  certainly  behooves  the  guardians  of  health, 
the  conservators  of  good  morals,  as  well  as  the  cultivators  of  social 
science,  to  look  well  now  to  these  things.  As  it  is  said  "  there  is  a 
tide  in  the  affairs  of  men,"  so  in  the  progress  of  social  evils,  when  the 
seed  is  being  sown  or  it  is  in  a  germinating  process,  they  can  be 
eradicated  far  easier  than  when  full  grown  and  sweeping  everything 
around  to  destruction.  What  more  pre-eminently  appropriate  for  the 
friends  of  social  science  to  investigate  than  the  evils  growing  out  of 
the  violation  of  those  great  laws  of  life  and  health,  involved  in  the 
increase  of  the  human  species?  And  are  there  not  evils  at  the 
present  day  connected  especially  with  our  domestic  relations  and  the 
marriage  institution,  that  need  investigation  and  correction?  If 
the  law  of  population  here  advocated  is  true,  it  presents  not  only  new 
and  most  important  views  of  the  duties,  obligations,  and  responsibili- 
ties of  these  relations,  but  ths,  right  wciy  and  proper  means  for  their 
improvement.  The  inquiry  naturally  arises,  what  are  to  be  the 
results  of  this  change  in  organization,  and  what  methods  of  reform 
can  be  suggested  ?  It  is  frequently  much  easier  to  find  out  and 
describe  clearly  the  nature  of  diseases,  with  their  causes,  than  to 
ascertain  remedies  and  prescribe  medicines  that  will  certainly  cure 
them.  There  is  another  thing  still  more  difficult,  that  is,  to  influence 
or  compel  people  to  follow  up  carefully  and  thoroughly  all  the  pre- 
scriptions and  directions  necessary  for  relief  and  cure.  It  is  particu- 
larly so  here.  In  response  to  the  above  question,  we  propose  to  make 
a  few  suggestions. 

Is  there  likely  to  be  in  New  England  an  intermixture  by  way  of 
marriage  between  those  of  foreign  parentage  and  of  those  strictly 
American  ?  We  answer  no,  not  in  sufficient  extent  to  remedy  the 

evil..    The  reports  of  marriages  in  Massachusetts  for  thirty  years 

the  allotted  period  of  one  generation — show  but  little  increase  ot 
such  marriages.  In  the  advancing  education  and  improvement  of  the 
foreign  population,  together  with  the  constant  changes  in  the  habits, 
employments,  and  tastes  of  our  own  people,  there  will  be  naturally 
some  intermixture,  and  perhaps  an  increase  of  such  marriages  ;  but 
then  there  are  limits  beyond  which  such  connections  will  not  extend. 
4 


There  are  great  boundary  lines  in  society,  fixed  in  the  very  nature  of 
things,  by  association,  by  families,  by  relationship,  and,  in  the  present 
case,  especially  by  a  radical  difference  in  religion,  which  cannot  easily 
be  modified,  certainly  not  obliterated. 

To  cure  disease  or  remedy  an  evil,  the  cause  must  be  removed. 
In  the  survey  which  we  have  made  of  the  changes  that  have  taken 
place  in  female  organization  in  New  England,  the  principal  causes 
may  be  summed  up  under  three  distinct  heads,  viz: — 1st,  Neglect  of 
physical  exercise  ;  2nd,  Fashions  in  dress  ;  and  3rd,  The  too  exclu- 
sive cultivation  of  the  brain.  It  is  the  law  of  God  that  no  human 
being  can  have  a  sound,  vigorous  body,  accomplish  much  physically 
and  enjoy  long  life,  without  good  m.tiscles.  That  these  muscles  be 
properly  developed,  their  exercise  must  be  commenced  early,  and  be 
carefully  trained  when  the  system  is  in  a  state  of  growth.  Exercise, 
and  exercise  alone,  can  do  this.  The  girl  must  practice  the  lighter 
gymnastics  of  domestic  labor,  and  be  thoroughly  and  practically 
trained  in  all  household  duties.  In  this  way  she  would  obtain  not 
only  a-good  physical  development,  but  a  preparation  for  some  of  the 
most,  important  duties  of  life,  which  neither  books,  schools  nor 
accomplishments  can  ever  furnish.  Connected  with  this  improved 
muscular  development,  and  knowledge  of  domestic  duties,  there 
would  be  other  advantages  of  great  value,  such  as  more  perfect 
health,  curtailment  in  family  expenses,  and  a  capability  in  every 
respect  of  fulfilling  more  satisfactorily  those  most  responsible,  but  yet 
happy,  relations  in  life — those  of  wife  and  mother.  Though  there  is 
a  variety  of  ways  by  which  exercise  can  be  obtained,  yet  domestic 
labor  is  altogether  the  most  important  and  best  adapted  to  develop 
and  strengthen  the  whole  system.  Within  a  few  years  much  interest 
has  been  awakened  upon  the  subject  of  physical  exercise,  particularly  as 
connected  with  schools  and  seminaries  of  learning.  Besides  the  out- 
door exercise  and  games,  calisthenics  and  gymnastics  have  been  intro- 
duced inside  the  school-room,  and  are  becoming  a  part  of  the  regular 
exercises  in  many  institutions.  This  is  an  improvement  in  the  right 
direction — is  good  as  far  as  it  goes — but  is  entirely  inadequate  to 
meet  fully  the  demands  of  nature.  No  kind  of  exercise  for  girls  is 
so  well  calculated  as  household  work  to  develop  all  the  muscles  of  the 
body — to  do  it  in  early  life,  and  gradually  under  circumstances 
favorable  to  health  generally.  The  girl  and  young  woman  must  thus 
be  trained  year  after  year,  otherwise  she  will  never  obtain  that  hardi- 
hood of  constitution — that  strength  of  muscles — that  power  of  endur- 


27 


ance,  or  in  other  words,  that  balance  of  temperaments  so  essential  to 
good  health  and  happiness,  in  all  the  social  and  domestic  relations  of 
life. 

To  restore  the  balance  in  woman  of  the  vital  temperament,  or 
the  sanguine  and  lymphatic,  is  not  an  easy  thing.  The  power  of 
fashion  in  dress  is  almost  omnipotent.  Judging  by  the  past  only,  any 
prospect  of  much  or  great  improvement  in  this  respect,  is  rather  dis- 
couraging. Still,  ignorance,  pride  and  vanity,  must  gradually  give  way 
to  self-interest,  to  knowledge  and  sense  of  duty.  There  have  been-, 
within  a  few  years,  improvements  in  two  respects  :  with  some  women 
there  is  certainly  less  compression  of  the  chest,  and  better  protection 
of  the  feet.  But  there  is  room  for  still  greater  improvement  in  this 
direction. 

For  the  proper  and  healthy  development  as  well  as  exercise  of 
the  lungs  and  the  heart,  together  with  the  digestive  organs,  that 
pressure  upon  the  chest  and  abdomen  so  generally  practiced  by 
females,  must  be  removed  ;  otherwise  a  due  proportion  of  the  vital 
temperament  in  woman  never  can  be  restored ;  otherwise  it  is  abso- 
lutely impossible  for  her  to  maintain  a  perfectly  healthy  organization 
herself  or  give  proper  vitality  and  strength  of  constitution  to  her 
offspring. 

There  is  another  practice  in  the  present  style  of  dress,  which  is 
most  injurious  to  female  health.  We  refer  to  the  unequal  protection 
in  clothing  to  different  parts  of  the  body — that  the  trunk  receives  a 
far  greater  amount  of  clothing  than  the  extremities.  In  the  case  of 
girls — especially  of  those  fashionably  dressed — the  arms  and  legs,  and 
sometimes,  the  upper  part  of  the  chest — are  very  slightly  protected, 
compared  with  the  body.  •  This  same  fact  holds  good  with  a  great 
majority  of  women,  particularly  in  fashionable  life. 

What,  now,  is  the  effect  of  this  difference  in  clothing,  when 
considered  in  view  of  the  sudden  changes  of  weather  and  the  long, 
cold  winters,  to  which  we  are  exposed  ?  It  violates  some  of  the 
most  important  laws  of  physiology.  It  tends  directly  to  prevent  the 
natural  and  healthy  circulation  of  the  blood  in  large  portions  of  the 
surface  of  the  system,  as  well  as  to  the  hands  and  feet — to  the  arms 
and  legs.  It  tends  at  the  same  time  to  retain,  not  only  an  undue 
proportion  of  blood  in  the  body,  but  to  cause,  much  of  the  time,  a 
congested  state  of  this  blood  in  the  vital  organs,  which  is  well  known 
to  medical  men  to  be  very  productive  of  disease.  With  the  many 
sudden  changes  of  heat  and  cold  that  exist  in  our  climate,  such  a 
style  of  dressing  must  produce  corresponding  changes  in  the  temper- 


28 


ature  as  well  as  in  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and  interfere  also  in 
other  respects  with  the  free  and  natural  action  of  the  lungs  and  the 
heart.  Let  such  a  practice  be  continued  by  females  for  years,  and  at 
the  most  important  period  in  life,  too,  and  its  influence  must  prove 
most  unfavorable  to  their  physical  development  and  health. 

There  are  two  other  topics  having  an  immediate  bearing  upon 
this  change  in  female  organization,  which  deserve  notice  here,  though 
not  connected  so  directly  with  fashion  in  dress,  as  in  the  manner  of 
living — one  has  reference  to  the  heart  and  the  lungs,  the  other  to  the 
organs  below  the  diaphragm.  In  consequence  of  the  great  improve- 
ments in  the  construction  of  dwellings — in  the  introduction  of  stoves, 
furnaces,  and  steam,  for  heating  purposes — the  air  now  breathed 
much  of  the  time  in  our  houses,  is  not  as  good  as  that  used  fifty  or 
one  hundred  years  ago.  The  women  of  our  day  spend  most  of  their 
time  in-doors,  and  do  not  begin  to  take  so  much  exercise  out  of  doors 
as  our  mothers  and  grandmothers  did ;  neither  do  they  compare,  in 
this  respect,  with  the  women  of  the  best  European  nations.  This 
change  in  reference  to  the  laws  of  ventilation,  has  had  a  most  injuri- 
ous effect  in  the  development  of  the  lungs  and  the  heart,  as  well  as 
upon  public  health. 

The  other  topic  referred  to,  and  which  has  had  an  exceedingly 
unfavorable  effect  upon  female  health,  is  the  very  general  use  of  fine 
flour  bread.  A  great  change  has  occurred  between  the  present  and 
former  generations  in  the  use  of  this  article ;  and  probably  nowhere 
in  the  world  are  the  finest  brands  of  flour  so  generally  sought  and 
extensively  used,  as  in  our  country.  When  such  bread  becomes  the 
principal  article  of  diet,  is  consumed  warm  or  newly  baked,  accom- 
panied with  strong  tea  or  coffee,  and  with  little  physical  exercise,  its 
general  effect  is  to  produce  dyspepsia,  indigestion  and  costiveness. 
It  is  well  known  that  these  are  very  common  complaints  among 
American  women  ;  and,  without  dwelling  upon  the  pains  and  evils 
of  dyspepsia,  this  very  general  costive  habit  is  productive,  in  our 
women,  of  an  untold  amount  of  ill-health  and  positive  disease. 
Connected  with  this  evil,  and  partly  growing  out  of  it,  is  the  con- 
stantly increasing  practice  of  depending  more  and  more  upon 
tea  and  coffee,  with  high-seasoned  and  stimulating  food,  instead  of 
supporting  the  body  with  plain,  nutritious  diet.  Within  a  lew  years, 
there  has  been  a  surprising  increase  among  our  American  people,  in 
the  use  at  the  table  of  condiments  and  spices,  as  well  as  stimulants. 
For  instance,  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  the  cayenne  pepper  or  capsi- 
cum, was  imported  into  the  United  States  in  small  quantities,  and 


29 


used  almost  exclusively  lor  medical  purposes;  but  where  one  bag 
was  then  bought,  hundreds,  if  not  thousands  are  now  imported,  and 
employed  in  a  variety  of  forms  as  condiments  for  the  table.  It 
would  seem  as  though  the  more  stimulating,  the  more  heating  and 
fiery  the  article  was,  the  better  it  suited  the  demands  of  the  modern 
stomach.  In  such  cases,  the  mucous  membrane  of  this  organ  must 
be  kept  most  of  the  time  in  an  irritable  and  inflamed  state,  similar  in  < 
some  respects  to  the  effects  of  alcohol ;  and  like  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits,  the  more  the  stomach  has  such  stimulants,  the  more  it  wants 
them  and  imperatively  demands  them. 

Such  a  course  of  diet  tends  directly  to  develop  more  and  more 
a  nervous  temperament,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  such  an  organization 
in  its  very  nature,  demands  and  will  have  these  very  stimulants. 
Here  we  have  cause  and  effect  interchanged,  so  that  an  abnormal 
state  of  the  system  serves  thus  to  perpetuate  itself  more  and  more. 
This  peculiarity  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  constitutes  a 
leading  obstacle  in  the  way  of  changing  the  nervous  temperament, 
or  arresting  the  agencies  that  are  most  active  in  its  development. 
In  order  to  effect  a  reform,  there  must  be  some  change  in  the  causes 
producing  this  state  of  things.  Education,  as  it  is  now  conducted, 
has  been  one  of  the  most  powerful  agents  in  bringing  about  this 
predominance  of  the  nervous  system  in  women.  The  great  mis- 
take has  been  in  the  too  exclusive  cultivation  of  the  brain  at  the 
expense  of  all  other  parts  of  the  body.  Some  writers  and  teachers 
have  urged  on  female  education,  and  advocated  a  higher  and  higher 
range  of  studies,  without  any  regard  to  the  physical  system  ;  others 
have  almost  spurned  the  idea  that  the  body  was  of  any  account 
whatever — that  the  mind  alone  possessed  value  and  required  cultiva- 
tion. Time  may  prove  that  what  has  been,  in  some  respects,  our 
boast  and  glory,  may  yet  become  our  shame  and  curse.  Such- is  the 
connection  of  the  body  with  the  mind,  that  a  proper  development  of 
the  former  is  indispensible  in  this  world  for  the  highest  manifesta- 
tions of  the  latter.  The  law^s  that  govern  the  one,  are  just  as  much 
a  part  of  the  laws  and  will  of  the  Creator,  as  those  that  govern  the 
other  ;  and  God  will  not  allow  these  physical  laws  always  to  be 
violated  with  impunity.  If  pains  and  sufferings,  weaknesses  and  ill- 
health,  sickness  and  premature  deaths,  are  not  sufficient  admonitions 
that  there  are  penalties  attached  to  these  laws,  the  gradual  diminu- 
tion and  final  extinction  of  the  race  will  demonstrate  this  great  fact. 
The  leading  agencies  and  controlling  influences  in  society  are  operat- 
ing powerfully  in  this  direction,  and  should  they  continue  and  in- 


30 


crease,  as  they  have  for  the  past  fifty  or  one  hundred  years,  the  most 
surprising  changes  will  take  place. 

In  no  one  thing  in  our  community  is  there  so  much  need  of 
change  or  reform  as  in  female  education.  Our  girls  are  now  put  to 
school  too  early — are  confined  in  the  school-room  too  many  hours — 
have  too  many  different  studies,  and  in  their  whole  course  of  educa- 
tion are  urged  on,  in  a  variety  of  ways,  by  motives  and  appeals  alto- 
gether too  stimulating  and  exciting  for  their  organization.  The 
most  intelligent  members  of  the  medical  profession,  and  professed 
teachers  themselves,  who  have  carefully  considered  the  subject,  have 
remonstrated  over  and  over,  against  the  present  practices.  But  their 
exposures,  remonstrances,  and  appeals,  have  had  apparently  but  little 
influence. 

If  half  the  time  of  girls,  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  eighteen, 
was  spent  in  obtaining  a  thorough  knowledge  of  every  department  of 
household  duties,  or  of  some  suitable  trade  or  business,  how  vastly 
better  qualified  would  they  be,  not  only  in  the  most  important  matter 
of  physical  health  and  sound  constitution,  but  in  other  desirable 
preparations,  for  performing  the  great  duties  of  life  ?  As  education 
is  now  conducted,  while  it  improves  the  mental  faculties  and  furnishes 
the  mind  with  stores  of  knowledge,  how  generally  does  this  very 
training  serve  to  increase  the  misery,  the  unhappiness,  and  suffering, 
of  females  in  all  their  future  life  ?  It  does  this  by  cultivating  a, 
predominance  of  the  nervous  temperament,  without  enough  of  the 
muscular  and  vital  to  support  it — by  a  knowledge  of  books  merely, 
without  any  experience  in  domestic  duties  or  other  pursuits — in  fact, 
by  cultivating  the  mental  faculties  to  a  high  degree,  without  the 
ability,  the  means  or  resources,  to  gratify  them.  It  may  be  said,  we 
have  plenty  of  help  at  our  own  doors,  in  the  foreign  population,  and 
that  there  is  no  necessity  of  our  girls  and  women  applying  them- 
selves to  the  dull  routine  and  drudgery  of  domestic  labor.  Thus, 
our  female  friends  at  the  South  reasoned  for  several  generations, 
living  in  comparative  indolence,  despising  labor,  devoted  to  a  fash- 
ionable and  extravagant  course  of  life,  till  now  a  thorough  recon- 
struction is  needed  in  that  portion  of  society,  almost  as  much  as  in 
governmental  affairs.  If  domestic  labor  is  to  be  given  up  more  and 
more,  if  physical  exercise  continues  to  be  generally  neglected  by  our 
girls,  and  this  predominance  of  the  nervous  system  in  our  women 
goes  on  increasing,  a  worse  curse  in  time,  we  fear,  will  overtake  us, 
than  ever  followed  negro  slavery. 


31 


There  is  one  way  in  which  a  reform  in  this  matter  may  be  effect- 
ed, or  at  least  commenced.  Let  the  true  nature  and  object  of  mar- 
riage be  better  understood,  in  accordance  with  natural  laws — in  the 
physical  qualifications  and  adaptations  of  parties  entering  it — in 
a  proper  knowledge  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  growing  out  of 
this  relation.  Let  the  qualities  most  sought  for  in  marriage,  be 
changed :  instead  of  the  slender  form,  the  small  waist,  the  ac- 
complishments of  a  fashionable  education,  the  choicest  decorations 
of  the  person— let  a  well-developed  body,  good  health,  a  sound  con- 
stitution, a  practical  knowledge  of  domestic  duties,  be  the  qualities 
most  preferred — the  indispensable  pre-requisites.  We  should  then 
have  an  increase  of  healthy  offspring,  less  discontent  in  the  family,  a 
far  less  number  of  divorces,  and  a  more  perfect  union  between  the 
husband  and  the  wife,  in  all  their  interests,  comforts,  and  happiness 
in  life. 

It  may  be  said,  that  this  change  in  the  law  of  human  increase, 
arid  other  evils,  which  have  here  been  referred  to,  are  a  necessary 
part  of  an  advancing  civilization,  and  grow,  in  the  nature  of  things,  out 
of  the  present  artificial  state  of  society  ;  and  that  such  is  their  origin, 
growth  and  necessity,  that  no  reform  or  improvement  can  easily  be 
made.  But  these  have  been  brought  about  entirely  by  human 
agency — principally  by  a  violation  of  the  great  laws  of  life  and 
health.  Such  evils  have  never  before  been  found  a  part  of  the  civil- 
ization of  any  race  or  nation,  unless  we  except  the  Roman  empire. 
And  what  is  fyere  the  testimony  of  history  from  the  highest  living 
authority  ?  Prof.  Seeley,  of  Oxford  University,  England,  after 
a  most  thorough  analysis  of  the  real  causes  of  the  downfall  of 
the  Roman  empire,  says,  in  a  recent  treatise  : — "  The  immediate 
and  patent  cause  of  the  fall  of  the  empire  was,  that  want  of  popula- 
tion which  made  it  impossible  to  keep  up  a  native  army,  and  which 
caused  a  perpetual  and  insuppressible  stream  of  barbaric  immigra- 
tion." And  the  want  of  this  population,  says  he,  arose  from  three 
causes: — "Infanticide,"  "Aversion  to  marriage,"  and  "The  general 
reluctance  to  rear  families."  This  Empire  nourished  between  four 
and  five  hundred  years,  but  the  evils  here  enumerated  commenced 
near  the  close  of  the  second  century, — increased  during  the  third, 
and  culminated  before  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  in  the  downfall 
of  the  nation.  Shall  the  purely  native  population  of  our  country — 
especially  of  New  England — follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  and  meet  with  a  similar  fate  ? 


Is  such  the  type  of  our  education,  our  civilization,  and  Christianity, 
that  these  evils  must  necessarily  exist  and  cannot  be  remedied  ?  If 
our  civilization  is  such  as  tends  to  destroy  or  weaken  those  two  great 
relations — the  matrimonial  and  parental — which  lie  at  the  foundation 
of  all  society,  is  it  not  time  for  some  change  or  reform  ? 

It  is  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  since  our  Puritan 
ancestors  settled  here,  and  nearly  all  these  evils  have  sprung  up  with- 
in fifty  years.  The  English  nation  has  now  been  steadily  advancing 
in  population  and  all  the  elements  of  civilization  for  over  a  thousand 
years,  and  never  was  more  prosperous  than  at  the  present  time.  The 
ancient  Greeks,  without  the  gospel — the  greatest  civilizing  power 
ever  known — could  flourish  as  a  people  for  over  two  thousand  years. 
A  longer  career  of  prosperity  and  a  nobler  destiny  should  await  our 
native  American  people.  Let  these  evils  be  exposed  and  discussed, 
as  they  ought  to  be,  in  public  and  in  private,  in  the  family  circle  and 
on  the  rostrum,  by  the  pulpit  and  by  the  press,  and  the  people  will 
prove  not  only  loyal  to  government,  but  obedient  to  the  laws  of  their 
own  being,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Creator. 


NOTE.— The  above  paper,  with  some  slight  corrections,  is  here  published,  just  as  pre- 
sented on  the  occasion'  referred  to.  At  that  time  it  was  expected  that  the  Papers  read  at 
the  Social  Science  meeting  in  Chicago  would  be  published  in  a  volume,  which  has  not  as 
yet  been  done;  and  this  accounts  in  part  for  the  delay,  and  manner  of  the  publication  of 
this  paper  at  the  present  time.  X  A 

LOWELL,  April,  1st  1870. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY. 


— 


LD  2lA-40m-2,'69 
(J6057slO)476— A-32 


YC  78939 


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236823 


